Out With The Old And In With The New?

Even when you thought the sports world couldn’t get any better with the return of basketball season…it did! Could it be that Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard maybe playing on the same team? This potential trade created such chaos throughout the sports industry. It was describe as a classic Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen and Dennis Rodman Chicago Bulls dream team. These three players working together defiantly had many teams scared of the opening season tip off on Christmas Day. However, no need to fear, the story ended as soon as it began.

Buzz of the Week: The NBA Returns

The floodgates open this pass weekend via the social media networks as news spread about the NBA owners and players possibly reaching an agreement. As we all know, the lockout began back in July and it has been a back and forth ordeal ever since. Many athletes were even ready or had already signed contracts to play overseas. Which I might add was paying a substantial amount of money. Nevertheless, the players are allowed to enter the facilities starting December 1. Along with free agency negotiation and the start of training camps scheduled for December 9. Therefore time is very important for all the loose ends to be tied up before anyone changes their minds.

What Really Matters When Writing a Business Plan?

 

For the past few months, I have been working on a potential business plan as part of my requirement for my educational program. This has truly been an exhausting, rigorous but very insightful process. Many entrepreneurs have taken for granted the importance of writing a business plan. I will boldly confess that I was one of those individuals, if it wasn’t for enrolling into the Sports Management program at Full Sail University. I probably would’ve never researched or written an entire business plan. It was like a light bulb instantly went off in my head. Therefore, I feel its only right for me to share with you some of my views on the important matters of writing a business plan that will hopefully attract investors. Now, I don’t have the accomplishments or experiences such as experts Daymond John or Mark Cuban as of yet.  However, I do represent a vast percentage of students and future entrepreneurs that will eventually have to take on this difficult task. So, take my advice as things to expect during this process and please conduct other research as well as.

What Really Matters…

 The Who?

Investors want to read a clear detailed explanation about the purpose of the company. Therefore, the plan should have a section for the company’s description and industry analysis. Which includes a clear mission or vision statement, describes the target audience and the key competitors in that industry. Often times, countless individuals fail to thoroughly explain to investors how they will specifically target this market (Small Business BC, 2011). If investors are confuse by the jargon or see that the target market is not consistent in the business plan. Then it’s going to be perceived that you don’t know the direction of your company brand and you didn’t research the industry. The goal is to always give investors a clear understanding of your company.

The What:

This section defines the type of product or service the company will render. In addition, it is very important that all possible distribution channels are listed as well as how and why these channels will assist in reaching the target market to generate brand identity and sales.

The When:

During one of my courses, I was so focus on getting the financials and marketing strategy together that I completely overlooked the developmental date. This section is not just to reveal the projected launch or opening day of the company. Its letting investors know all about the things you have accomplished. For example, acquiring any type of intellectual properties, purchasing any property and especially the city and state the company will reside. Basically, anything that has been done prior to the submission of the business plan that will help the investors to see that you have put forth time and effort in the company establishment instead of waiting for their financial backing.

The How:

This part of the business plan can be difficult because the main goal is to explain how you’re going to generate sale and any other sources of funding. Therefore, a marketing strategy should be included, along with financial projection such as,  start-up cost, marketing, sales and etc. These financial projections should allow the investors to see what your expenses are, when the company will generate money and hopefully an opportunity see a return on their investment sooner if the company should do well.

All these factors listed above are what I had to take into consideration after reviewing the advice from my experts. Therefore, I had to do some major changes to ensure that potential investors could visualize in their heads what my company does and how we made money. Like Daymond Johnson said, a business plan “is like a roadmap, personalized just for you, that is going to guide you from where you are now, to where you want to be.” In addition I had to make some adjustments to the financial projections of my plans. To demonstrate the growth of the company in a certain amount of years and even giving investors a quick return on their investments. Please do not forget to conduct additional research; sba.gov is a great starting point. See you at the top!

-The Sportnista ‘95

 
 Picture Reference:

Ozkan, E. (n.d.) What Is A Business Plan? Retrieved November 18, 2011 from http://siteboat.com/what-is-a-business-plan-business-development-series-2/

Planini. (2011). Why Business Planning Is So Important? Retrieved November 18, 2011 from http://www.planini.com/2011/10/why-business-planning-is-so-important/

The Business Plan:

So you want to own your business? If the answer is yes, here are some questions for you to think about.

 

1. What is the purpose of your business?

2. Are there any investors? If so, how will they benefit?

3. How fast will the company generate profit?

4. Do you know the industry and your competitors?

5. What are the long and short terms risks and opportunities?

Sports Cause-Related Campaigns

Flashing lights, fancy cars and more money to last a lifetime. These are the things people associate with being a professional athlete. For many athletes this statement is true, being the next best player and making as much money as possible is their sole purpose. However, I have noticed over the pass few years several sports leagues and players have been participating and sponsoring various cause related campaigns. In hopes not only to change this stigma but also bring awareness to the issues that are affecting our communities.

Is Silence Really Golden?

After a long evening out with family and friends, I decided to catch up on some scores from Sunday’s football games. As I watched the highlights and the latest sports news, I had a certain peculiar feeling come over me. “Something is missing,” were the words that echoed through my head. As the sport anchor switched to different stories, the feeling became more intense. It wasn’t until I logged onto Twitter and scrolled across a story retweet about a comment NBA player Carmelo Anthony had made that the missing piece.  Literally hit me like a hammer hitting a nail on its head the NBA Lockout.

According to Bleacherreport.com, Carmelo quoted lyrics from one of his favorite song that he felt describe his generation and fellow athletes’ position on the lockout and injustice in America. “My generation: Athletes today are scared to make Muhammad Ali-type statements,” stated Carmelo. I am usually in tuned to the latest updates on any major sports news. Unfortunately, the NBA lockout has a different approach and atmosphere regarding the coverage of their issues. When the NFL had its lockout, the players, owners, and members of the national football league players association were hitting the media with their concerns and status of the agreement at least everyday. The same cannot be said about the NBA lockout, one of the reasons the players are not saying anything is because there is an apparent gag order that prohibits players to discuss the legalities of the agreement. The union wants to contain the amount of information flow that is being delivered to the media. Another reason some players are not being active as football players is because some have other means of income. For example, Deron Williams and Kobe Bryant among other players have been offered a substantial amount of money to play overseas until the lockout is lifted. For football players, there were not many alternatives that were going to paying $3 million dollars. Therefore, a sense of urgency was necessary because the longer an agreement was not reach, the longer the players went without being paid.

This led me to believe that for some players being silent has been a golden opportunity for their professional career during the lockout. Of course there are many players who have not been afforded the chance to play overseas. For instance, Delonte West of the Boston Celtics was recently hired at a furniture store, which is really usual. However, due to his criminal record, Delonte is not allowed to travel outside the country. On the other hand, other players are choosing to take this time to be productive and give back to the community. Stephen Curry of the Golden Warriors decided to finish up his psychology degree. While other players are conducting basketball campus and working with their foundations. Nevertheless, however the players are spending their time, they should defiantly make more of an effort to insure that their opinions as well as their voices are being heard. If not for themselves, than for the millions of fans. Malcolm X said it the best, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

-The Sportsnista ‘95

Photo Reference:
1389Blog-Counterjihad. (2011). Bill C-51: Immediate Threat to Free Speech and Free Press on the Internet in Canada. Retrieved from http://1389blog.com/category/media/art-design/graphic-arts/ 

The NFL Will Never Forget!

This pass Sunday not only marked the opening of the National Football Leagues regular season, but also the 10^th anniversary of 9-11. All across this great country, millions of Americans held ceremonies and attended visuals. As well as the unveiling of the 9-11 memorial at Ground Zero dedicated to the victims and heroes killed on that tragic day. It was truly a day of reflection and more importantly, a time for remembrance.   

A couple of week’s prior, the NFL’s sponsor Reebok sent out special gear for the players to wear on opening day. The purpose of the gear was not to premiere any new apparel or solicit consumers. Instead, Reebok’s intention was to give the players an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of 9-11. The only problem was, the company sent the items without getting approval from the NFL. This created a major commotion among the industry because many allegations were arising that the league was going to fined players for wearing the uniform before authorization. Many would agree that, sometimes rules are made to be broken for the right cause and that is exactly what some of the players were going to do. According to USATODAY, Lance Briggs was ready and willing to accept any fine that came along with wearing the 9-11 gear. “Reebok did a great job on these gloves and shoes…looks like I’m getting fined this week. Lol!” tweeted Briggs. However, there was no need for anyone to whip out their checkbooks the league made a statement that no fines would be issue for wearing the patriotic apparel. As long as the gear is from a licensed NFL sponsor.

It’s my belief that the NFL had no intention of penalizing anyone; they have been known to create special gear to show their support for many good causes. For example, last season the league participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month by having a huge campaign. Players wore pink cleats, gloves and helmets decals, in addition to the coaches and the sideline staff sporting pink caps and t-shirts. Also, there were games balls with pink ribbons and a pink goal post padding in the end zone (NFL, 2010). The campaign proven to be a success in raising over $80,000 that was donated; there is aspect of the league that isn’t all about making money or thinking of the next best marketing scheme. Football is known to be the American sport. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise to me when the players proudly stepped onto the field wearing their red, white and blue. It was the NFL way to show the American people and the world that they will NEVER FORGET the victims and heroes of 9-11.

-The Sportsnista

Picture Reference:

Monty, C. (2011). WTF. NFL Players to Face Fines for Wearing Commemorative 9/11 Gear. Retrieved from http://www.blippitt.com/wtf-nfl-players-to-face-fines-for-wearing-commemorative-911-gear-photos/

Weasel Zippers. (2011). NFL May Fine Players for Wearing 9/11 Tribute Gear. Retrieved from http://weaselzippers.us/2011/09/09/nfl-may-fine-players-for-wearing-911-tribute-gear/